The Heart of A Dragon Tamer
by Riana Mustang
Summary: The first appearance of Aisling Kaiba...long lost heir to the Kaiba family. After 12 years of separation, she seeks to find her brother. But Pegasus is after her Item, and the strange illness that she's had since she was a child may kill her. RyouAisling
1. Escape From Pegasus' Castle

The Heart of A Dragon Tamer  
  
Authoress: RyouBakura's Dark Angel *a.k.a. Aisling*  
  
Aisling: I'm back again! Yay! And I finally get to tell my story!  
  
Yami: Oh, Ra. Here we go again.  
  
Seto: *Whacks the Pharaoh on the head* Leave my sister alone!  
  
Ryou: Yeah, be nice to her, Yami.  
  
Yami: *Mutters under his breath in ancient Egyptian and walks away*  
  
Me: What a meanie butt. Anywho, can someone please do the disclaimer for me? Onegai?  
  
Malik: *Glomping onto Aisling* Aisling-cat doesn't own YGO, but anything original is hers.  
  
Me: *Sweatdrop* Umm, Malik? Ryou's getting irritated. You might want to get off me.  
  
Ryou: MALIK ISHTAR! GET OFF OF MY GIRL NOW!   
  
Me: *Sigh* If they weren't so cute, I might have to intervene. You all see what I live with?  
  
Ryou: *Pouts*  
  
Aisling: *Glomping him* It's okay, Ry-chan, I still love you. Anyway, on with the fic!  
  
********************  
  
*Chapter 1: Escape From Pegasus' castle.*  
  
She had to escape from this horrible place.  
  
Aisling Kaiba glanced around at her surroundings. She was in a small, empty cell in one of the top levels of Pegasus' castle. Moonlight streamed into the room through the single window, flooding across the floor and bathing the girl in an almost ethereal glow. There was no furniture in the room to speak of, really, but there were also no bars or anything of the like over the window either, which gave her an idea as to how she could get out of there unnoticed. Or at least that was what she was hoping for, anyway.  
  
She moved over to the window and looked down, trying to gauge just how far up from the ground that she actually was. It was much too far for her to jump, unfortunately. She'd never be able to survive the fall. She cursed under her breath viciously in what little ancient Egyptian that she knew and reached for the small pouch that rested lightly against her left hip. She pulled out her Duel Monsters deck and began flipping through the cards desperately, searching for one in particular.  
  
"Where is it? I know I've got it here somewhere," she muttered softly to herself, her voice a barely audible whisper that seemed to echo back at her in the empty room.  
  
After a few more moments, she finally found what she had been looking for, somewhere near the bottom of her deck. She put it down on the floor in front of her face-up and took a few steps back.  
  
"I call upon Spirit, the White-Winged Horse! I bid thee, come forth from the Shadow Realm, and live again!" she chanted.  
  
A moment later, there was a bright flash of blue light emanating from both the card on the floor and her Millennium Star that Aisling thought for sure would be noticed and bring the guards running. But, much to her surprise and relief, no one came, and she let out a breath that she hadn't even realized that she'd been holding.   
  
Suddenly the blinding light disappeared, and in its place stood a beautiful, majestic white stallion with his wings outstretched gracefully. The creature reared up on its back legs and whinnied happily at the sight of Aisling. She ran to the horse and took his face gently between her hands in an effort to calm the animal. Her sapphire blue eyes quickly darted to the door for a second, making sure that Spirit had not been heard. That would be the last thing she needed right now.  
  
"Shh, Spirit. Hush, please, someone will hear you," she whispered, glancing towards the door and back at Spirit once again.  
  
The horse seemed to sense her desperation and fell silent, lowering herself back down again so that he was standing on all four legs and folded his luxurious wings against the sides of his body. Aisling let go of the animal's face and kissed his forehead. He nudged her cheek lovingly in return with his nose.   
  
"Yes, sweetie. I missed you, too. Hey, how's about you letting me ride on your back and we get out of this creepy dump?" she said quietly.  
  
The horse nodded eagerly. He knelt down and Aisling quickly climbed onto his back. She clung to his neck, steadying herself while he stood up and moved over to the window. She loosened her hold on the horse's neck just long enough to put her deck back into her pouch. Then she wrapped her pale, slender arms around Spirit's neck once again, clinging to him for dear life.  
  
"Spirit, spread your wings and take flight!" Aisling commanded.   
  
The horse did as he was told. He leapt out of the window, spreading his wings out to their full length, letting the wind carry them both higher into the darkness, away from Pegasus' castle.   
  
Aisling glanced back only once, just long enough to make certain that they were not being pursued. She was about to let out a sigh of relief when she heard the angry shouts of the guards far below them. She cursed in Egyptian again and turned back around, an expression of fear and grim determination clearly evident in her pretty sapphire eyes. She leaned forward slightly so as to speak to the winged-horse.  
  
"Well, Spirit, it looks like our benevolent hosts have gotten the picture that we didn't appreciate their so-called hospitality. Take us higher where they can't find us," she said, her voice becoming even more urgent than before, despite the obvious sarcasm that laced her tone.  
  
The horse glanced back at Aisling, and that ebony gaze seemed to bore into her. A concerned noise escaped the animal, and Aisling sighed in frustration.  
  
"This isn't the time to argue with me, Spirit! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Now just go! Take us higher! The secret service weenies are gaining on us!"  
  
He hesitated for just a brief moment, uncertain. Then he started to fly faster, taking them farther and farther away from Pegasus' castle. Aisling instinctively clung tighter to the horse's neck, trying to resist the sudden urge to look down. She hated heights with a royal passion.   
  
Unfortunately, it didn't do her any good. Aisling glanced down against her better judgment the moment that the thought popped into her mind. A strangled gasp escaped her throat as she realized just how high up from the ground that they truly were. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, fighting back a wave of dizziness as Spirit finally came to a stop, his wings still outstretched as they hovered on the wind in midair.  
  
"Okay, when I said to take us higher, I didn't mean quite this high," Aisling said nervously, opening her eyes again.  
  
The horse glanced back at her and made a derisive noise that was obviously meant as a sarcastic remark in an untranslateable language. Aisling merely rolled her blue eyes playfully, sticking her tongue out at Spirit in a gesture of childishness.  
  
"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny, smart-ass. If we weren't so far up in the air, I'd send you back to your card," she said jokingly, laughing at the expression on Spirit's face and giving him a look that plainly said, 'Aww, you know you love me!'  
  
Suddenly her laughter was cut short by a violent bout of coughing that wracked her slender body painfully. She squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her grip on Spirit's neck slightly to keep herself from falling off of his back. The blood that she had coughed up stained the animal's hair crimson as she buried her face in that snowy-white mane. She whimpered once in pain, but made no other sound.  
  
The horse whinnied again, trying frantically to get Aisling's attention, but it was no use. The girl had already slipped into unconsciousness. Spirit headed for the ground, flying slowly so that Aisling would not slip from his back and fall to her doom.  
  
When he reached the ground, Spirit tucked his luminescent wings back against his sides and quickly left the cover of the foliage surrounding them. At the edge of the forest, the horse knelt down on the soft grass and shifted his body just ever so slightly. Aisling slid off of his back and landed gently on the ground. Spirit nudged her with his nose a few times, but he still got no response from her.  
  
Panicking now, Spirit quickly leapt to his feet and looked around desperately, searching for someone, anyone at all, who could possibly help his fallen master. But there wasn't anyone in sight, which most likely meant that there was not a soul to be found on this stupid, God-forsaken island.  
  
Spirit glanced back down at Aisling worriedly, but the girl was still unconscious, her slender body completely motionless except for the rise and fall of her chest with her labored breathing. The animal sighed. He didn't want to leave Aisling there alone, vulnerable as she was in her unconscious state, but he also knew that he had no other choice, either. The horse knew that people most likely would not react very well to the sight of a flying horse that was supposed to be nothing more than a playing card in the Duel Monsters game.  
  
He knelt down beside her again, nudging her gently one more time, almost as if he was trying to reassure her that everything was going to be all right. Then he vanished in a bright flash of light, and the only sign that anyone or anything other than Aisling had ever even been there in the first place was the single Duel Monsters card clasped tightly in Aisling's pale hand.  
  
To be continued...What do you think? This is Aisling's story, twelve years after she and her twin brother Seto were separated. It's three pages, I hope the wait was worth it. I'll try to get the next part up ASAP. Next chapter, the others come into the picture and two lovers will be reunited, though they don't know yet that they were together in ancient Egypt. Please R&R! Compliments and/or *constructive* criticism welcome. If I messed anything up, I like to know so I can fix it. But if you've got nothing more to say besides, 'oh this sucks!' or something like that, save it, because pointless, mindless flames will be cheerfully ignored and used against the demented pony (sorry, woodelf), duke and his groupies, as well as bandit keith. Okay, I'm going to shut up now, and try to get part two of this as well as a couple of my other fics up today. *Chibi smile* Ja ne!  
  
*RyouBakura's Dark Angel* 


	2. Rescue and A Fated Meeting

The Heart of A Dragon Tamer  
  
Authoress: RyouBakura'sDark Angel *a.k.a. Aisling Kaiba*  
  
Aisling: Yay! I'm back with the next part of this! *chibi smile*  
  
Yami: You don't know when to quit, do you?  
  
Aisling: *sticks her tongue out at him and pushes him out of the room* There, now that that's settled...can someone do the disclaimer for me?  
  
Rishid: *Trying to very discreetly sneak away*  
  
Aisling: Oh Rishi-chan! Please?  
  
Rishid: *Sigh* Very well. Lady Aisling does not own YGO, but anything original is hers.  
  
Aisling: *Glomps him* Arigatou, Rishi! And now, on with the fic!  
  
****************************'  
  
*Chapter 2: Rescue And A Fated Meeting*  
  
Meanwhile, a group of duelists happened to be walking that way, searching for a place to set up camp for the night. Well, only two of them were actually officially competing in the Duel Monsters tournament. The others--two boys and one girl--had somehow managed to stow away on the ship that was en route to the Duelist Kingdom.  
  
One was a tall boy with blonde hair and light caramel brown eyes wearing a green jacket, white t-shirt, blue denim jeans and sneakers. Another boy walked right next to the blonde. He was about the same height as the blonde, give or take a few inches. His brown hair was slightly spiky, and came to a point in the front. He also had brown eyes, though his were a slightly darker shade than those of the blonde. He wore a white shirt--which was more or less concealed by his long tan trench coat--as well as dark pants and brown boots.  
  
Beside the brunette was a girl who was only slightly shorter than him. She had shoulder-length brown hair, and her bangs dangled slightly above her ocean-blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved beige and pink jacket-type blouse, a short skirt that was a dark shade of purple, and brown, calf-high boots.  
  
Walking right in front of them were two other boys. The taller of the duo was a shy, albino boy. He was paler than the rest of his group, and appeared to be almost fragile, like porcelain. Mysterious chocolate brown eyes peered out from underneath white bangs, the rest of his snow-colored hair falling just past his shoulders and framing his pale face in an almost endearingly cute way. He wore a long-sleeved white sweater with a green shirt underneath, the collar clearly visible above the top of the sweater, blue denim jeans and sneakers. A strange-looking necklace dangled from a length of brown cord around his neck. It was a gold ring, inside which was a golden pyramid. A slightly odd version of the Egyptian Eye of Ra was engraved in the middle of the pyramid. Five gold pointers dangled in more or less of a semi-circle from the bottom and sides of the pendant.   
  
The other boy was shorter than the rest of the group. He had spiky, tri-colored hair that was an odd combination of crimson, ebony and gold, and large, innocent violet eyes. He wore a white shirt, a dark blue jacket, dark blue pants, and sneakers. Around his neck was a black choker with a silver buckle adorning it. Dangling from a length of brown cord was what looked like a gold, upside-down pyramid with the Eye of Ra symbol engraved in the center of the pendant. Both he and the blonde each wore a red glove with gold stars adorning the silver wristbands of the gloves.  
  
"Hey, Yugi? You all right?" the blonde, Joey Wheeler, asked.  
  
Yugi Motou didn't answer, but instead her merely nodded, not even looking up at his best friend. He had caught a glimpse of something several feet away. He stopped short in his tracks, and so did the others, staring at their friend in concern.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tea Gardner asked, giving her friend a confused look.  
  
"Look over there," Yugi muttered.  
  
The others followed his gaze, and that was when they realized why he had stopped. Several feet away from them, a young girl lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, though whether she was merely unconscious or dead, they couldn't tell from their vantage point.  
  
"What in the world?" Tristan Taylor muttered under his breath.  
  
"I wonder who she is?" Ryou Bakura spoke up.  
  
"I don't know, Ryou, but she might need our help," Yugi replied. "Come on, guys."  
  
The others nodded in agreement and hurried over to the fallen girl. When they reached her, Ryou knelt down on the ground next to her as the others looked on in concern. He gently shifted her delicate, motionless form slightly, not wanting to worsen any damage there may have been if she was hurt, and moved her so that she was lying on her back now. He brushed her dark brown hair back from her face so that it splayed out around her like some kind of dark halo and they saw her face. She struck them as familiar somehow, but none of them could quite say how or why. But the faint rise and fall of her chest with her still-labored breathing reassured them that she was still alive, merely unconscious, and any resemblance between the mysterious girl and anyone else was immediately forgotten.  
  
"What do you think we should do, guys?" Tristan asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"Why don't we set up camp here tonight?" Tea suggested.  
  
The others nodded their agreement, Ryou doing so almost absently before turning his attention back to the girl lying on the ground next to him. His innocent, chocolate brown eyes had taken on a distant, almost dreamy expression. He stayed like that for a long time, lost deep within his own thoughts.  
  
There was something about her that seemed familiar to him, something more than just a physical resemblance. Something in her soul was calling out to him, though he was hard-pressed to say just what it was that drew him to her.  
  
Suddenly he was brought out of his reverie by a strange glow coming from his Millennium Ring. Ryou glanced down and realized that the gold Ring was pointing towards the mysterious girl. Then he saw the necklace that she wore and gasped softly. The others watched in sheer confusion, wondering what was going on.  
  
"Hey, Ryou, you all right? What's the deal with your Millennium Ring?" Joey asked, waving his hand in front of the albino's face to get his attention.  
  
Ryou shook himself mentally as the glowing stopped and the Ring became lifeless once again. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached over and gently stroked the girl's silken cheek once in a loving gesture. His brown eyes held traces of unshed tears, and it seemed as if for just a brief moment, their spirits seemed to wrap themselves around each other.  
  
"Umm, Yugi? What do you think is going on? Does he know her or something?" Tea asked quietly.  
  
Yugi just shrugged. "I don't know, it's possible, I guess," Yugi replied.  
  
"Hey, look, Yug. She's got one of those Millennium Items, too," Joey suddenly pointed out.  
  
"You're right, she does!" Yugi said.  
  
"My sweet desert angel," Ryou muttered softly as he clasped the girl's smaller hand gently in his own.  
  
Just then, he seemed to notice that the others were staring at him. He shook his head, wondering what had just happened, then glanced up at his companions.  
  
"What happened?" Ryou asked.  
  
"We were just about to ask you the same thing," Tristan spoke up.  
  
"Yeah, you looked like you were out of it or something, and you called her your 'sweet desert angel.' Do you know her?" Tea said quietly.  
  
Ryou blushed crimson as he glanced back down at the girl, only vaguely aware of the fact that he was still clasping her hand. He blushed deeper--if that was even humanly possible--and let go of her hand. Luckily for him, he was saved from having to answer them when a soft, agonized moan broke through the unnerving silence.  
  
"Hey, she's waking up," Tea said.  
  
The girl shifted slightly, and her eyelids fluttered open. She sat up a little bit, her blue eyes focusing with slight difficulty upon the strangers who were gathered around her. She glanced around wildly as if looking for something. Her sapphire-blue eyes went very wide with her fear and she shied away from them, staring at them suspiciously.   
  
"Are you all right?" Ryou asked softly, his voice filled with concern for the mysterious girl.  
  
"Who are you people? What do you want from me?" she demanded.  
  
To Be Continued...well, here's the second part, sorry if it was short. I'll try to get the next part up as soon as I can. And just to clear up any potential confusion, Aisling and Ryou were together back in ancient Egypt, and the memories have momentarily started to come back to Ryou. Please R&R! No flames, though, or I'll sic a drunk and horny Pegasus on you. (Sorry, woodelf!) Well, ja ne!  
  
*RyouBakura's Dark Angel* 


End file.
